First Baby Days series
Pat-a-Cake, 2017Funny Faces. ISBN 9781526380005
On the Move. ISBN 9781526380012
(Ages: 0-2) Recommended. Board books, high-contrast illustrations. These high-contrast board books have been designed to stimulate even the youngest children. Testing them out on my own two-month-old gave credibility to this claim; she was more engaged with the illustrations in these two titles than with other brightly coloured illustrations. Not only did she look at the pictures for longer but she also followed the book with her eyes. When held in front of her she also became calmer, seemingly enjoying the stimulation.
Each book contains one bright colour (yellow, red) as well as black, white and grey. The illustrations are bold with simple patterns and the text encourages the parent to interact with the child (e.g. 'Hello, little panda. Wave to little panda!'). Infants love to look at faces so will love the big expressive faces of the animals in Funny Faces and enjoy looking at themselves in the large, clear mirror (many mirrors placed in books are tiny and don't reflect well). They will also enjoy the noises of the vehicles in On the Move (Brrm! Choo! Zoom!) and tracking the impressive pull-tabs (there are pull-tabs within pull-tabs), which are robust enough to withstand rough treatment.
These two titles are great for infants but will also entertain toddlers.
Nicole Nelson